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tv   Politics Public Policy Today  CSPAN  April 27, 2013 6:00am-7:01am EDT

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operating in afghanistan, taking in people from all over the world. is there anything on a smaller scale in chechnya? we saw these brothers be effective in the bombing and incredibly amateurish after the bombing. it would be interesting to see if they got any training beyond what they saw on the internet for the bombing. we will not know that in these hearings, but perhaps we will know if there is a mini-out al qaeda for extremist islam in the region. i think i will save the rest of my questions for question time.
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>> thank you very much. we will now proceed to our questions and dialogue. let me begin by saying that years ago, i think in 2004, the terrorists took over a school in russia. is that city part of chechnya? or part of russia? it is a russian school. the terrorists murdered in the end -- 180 children lost their lives. i remember calling the white
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house personally and i talked directly with condoleezza rice and i told her, now is the time that we can establish a close and positive relationship with russia. recruit them to work with us in areas of mutual interest that we could not do before. now is the time to stand with these folks. send president bush over there to stand next to putin and say americans stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of russia and the government of russia in opposing and feeding those who would murder children in order to obtain their political edge. as we have seen in boston, the young man who put the bomb down did so by an eight-year-old boy. the answer was evident that no,
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the president did not go there. how many people here know that the russians have built a monument in memory of the people who were killed? right across from where the world trade center was, there is a beautiful monument that was built by the russian people and the russian government expressing solidarity of seeing ordinary people losing their lives to a terrorist attack? today, i would hope that what happened in boston and the fact is related directly back to russia and chechnya, there is a line you could draw that i hope will motivate us to work with russia in order to defeat those
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who would murder children in order to attain their goals. the chechnya independence movement was originally secular nationalists. what i am talking about is, i do not understand how radical islam talking about god, they seem to be the ones to justify acts of murdering innocent people, who are noncombatants. not targeting the army of someone, but targeting -- that is being done to terrorized into submitting to some of their radical religious thought. in the beginning, it was secular nationalists. now it appears that radical islamist ideologies has pretty
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much dominated that independence movement. these are people who now make a common jihad against christians and jews around the world. where did that come from? how did that happen? i am asking this of the panel. was this financing of the extremism, and financing of these mosques, it did that have something to do with this? what kind of threats in the future? they did not permit the saudis to build their mosques. they were criticized as a violation of their human rightso develop a brand of islam that will target and killed children.
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how did it become as -- is there a way to counter that? are we right to condemn them for not allowing them to build their mosques? >> as someone who was quite involved, who prevented the killing of boris yeltsin, prevented the killing -- extensions of killings at that time, i can testify that the national movement was completely secular. the process by which you saw a change is not that the entire movement changed, but the part that got attention changed. it was a product of three different factors. the first was that the national movement is articulated -- he believed as a nation, they had a right to independence.
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that was his personal belief. when they did not get any support for their position in the west, at a be damaging for suort elsewhere. disappointed in are not having supported them, they turn to look to the only people prepared to said they were supporting them. i mentioned some numbers about the people -- this is a good indication of how intense -- over the last 22 years, chechens have formed a 40% coming from the russian federation even though they form less than 1% of the russian federation. you have real money coming in to build various kinds of things. i would argue there is still a chechen national movement that
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is committed to a secular and free chechnya. unfortunately, it gets very little attention in chechnya because it has been so unsuccessful. people are unsuccessful, and when pe ope to be their allies do not turn out to be, it is not surprising that they turn to other people. >> i cannot imagine if a number of western countries where people would be so committed to the national independence and they were so frustrated that they were not getting outside support, they would go to ally themselves with those who help
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them murder large numbers of children. this is not an excuse, them not getting support from the united states or from people who believe in democracy, it is no excuse to help people who are willing to murder targets. >> i was not -- i am just trying to provide an explanation, because it is absolutely true. what was tragic is that those people who recognized what was going on were almost entirely ignored. there was a lot that could have been done and should have been done and was not done. i do not believe that we bear responsibility, either then or now, for what happened. >> given your familiarity with the russian government, i have a question. the fbi investigating the boston
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bombing received information from russia. they sought additional information after their investigation. can you speak or shed some light on the culture that exists with law-enforcement and with security officials in both countries? could you comment on how it could be improved? >> my opinion is that -- this is my guess. cnn wanted me to comment about the contact between security forces, they said they are cooperating and we are not going to make any comments on this.
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my personal guess is that this is the problem of distrust between our countries and their security forces. i am afraid that russian security law enforcement agencies asked the fbi to look at these guys, in this country and in the west, the idea that russian authorities are oppressing them. this is some russian plot. this is not a terrorist, it is something else. that is why i am afraid they did not pay enough attention to the warnings. as a result, as i said in my preliminary statement, on law enforcement authorities, and in political circles, and i know them very well, since 2001, there is a feeling of betrayal.
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putin offered every opportunity and strongly cooperated in fighting against the taliban and al qaeda. in response, i remember the feeling in russia at the time. everybody was thinking, at least we are finishing and putting , thethis cold war distrust. >> one of the things we want to come up with is a better opportunity to have security advisers and law enforcement work more closely, despite our differences, as difficult as
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bothcan be, because in countries, lives could be lost. particularly with groups like the caucasus emirates. i have a quick question for dr. freezer. we're getting getting reports that there are posters coming up in the north caucasus area. actual support or support for the terrorist that conducted the boston marathon bombing, i do not know what information you might have in those reports, but this is unusual that there is so much attention focused on the u.s., negative attention. you comment on what you might think in your opinion -- is there a different viewpoint now toward the united states? >> and our reporting so far, we have not really looked at the russian-united states
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relationship as it relates to the north caucasus. so i can only answer the question partially. what i can say is that any statement last week, what they said is that they are not at war with the united states. it is not the ambition of the north caucasus insurgency to extend its war to the united states or beyond the region of the caucasus, including central asia. the posters you're seeing today are very troubling. to see that there are people in this region who are taking pleasure of what happened in boston. some of this might just be local pride and terms of family links but of course is highly unfortunate and i don't to get reflects on the failings of the general population in the region. >> thank you.
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with that, i turn it back, mr. chairman. >> the chairman of the subcommittee on terrorism and nonproliferation. >> thank you for being here. i am a little irritated that the state department is not here. this is an important topic. sure, they don't have all the information yet but they should at least show up. it's ironic the russian government help us get a witness here to help us from that perspective. you may be the last person in the state department i worked on this issue. maybe that's why you're the only one here today. but i do have some concerns. i think we have learned that radical islamic jihadist did not come from a certain one place area in the world.
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they come from all over the world. some are homegrown. chechnya is one of those areas that we need to focus on. we need to work with the russian government on what is taking place there because what takes place there obviously has been taking place here as well with the influence and redline from dagestan to the united states as far as what criminal activity is taking place in our own country. if dagestan is a place where it is known that as a haven for jihadist philosophy, why we would not be concerned about someone and the united states going to that area for six months.
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what was he doing for six months? who would this person, the older brother, who could he have been meeting with to get an influence on al qaeda or from al qaeda jihadist movements? >> i just want to suggest that one of the insights americans have brought to the appearance of terrorism is that it is often bred and failed states where there are no political institutions to run things. a week ago, the new acting president of dagestan, described his republic as a failed state where political and legal institutions did not work and where he cannot control the situation. failed states that cannot control their population or
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operate as a state now -- normally does, open areas exploited by radicals of various kinds. there are places in dagestan were officials have not been. so the possibility of someone going there for six months and not being exposed to radicals in one way or another strikes me as slim to none. >> it is not the place you would go fishing. >> among other things. that's right. it is also a place where you would expect someone that had the troubled biography this gentleman did, but an opinion on object of interest. i am more concerned about the six month and dagestan than the
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fact that the man is an ethnic chechen. >> let me retain my time. would you think that we should be concerned about that? especially if the russian government says -- they tell us two times this is somebody we should be concerned about. and all the sudden he comes back to the united states, maybe a customs official knew it, maybe he did not, but in the area of intelligence, that should raise a red flag. this is not something that should slip under the rug. >> it definitely poses a concern if we did not communicate properly who was visiting the area. i want to address the regional
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regional -- original point who could this person have been meeting with in dagestan. this is particularly an organization that could be a subset -- >> how large of that organization? >> may be less than 1000 individuals, i don't have much evidence of that. they are actively recruiting throughout the area as well. it could be larger because it is attached to the caucasus emirates as well as the confederation of alliances. >> is the influence of the radical jihadist movement in dagestan, is it on the increase or is it decreasing? is it something we should be concerned about as well? >> it is on the increase in dagestan is something we should be concerned about. >> i am out of time. i yield back. >> i don't believe any americans
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are concerned if a country decides to have leadership that is religious. if there is a religion that convinces people that part of their faith is to murder other people's children. for their independence and right to vote. mr. sherman. >> thank you. does anyone have little quick history lesson for us as to the chechen deportation? how many people were kicked out, etc.
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>> the entire operation in 1944. a quarter died in transit. they were allowed to return. russia resettled some people into the homes inside chechnya at that time. khrushchev eventually allowed the chechens to come back. many came back. there were issues in ethnic tensions within chechnya in people who resettled in their homes. this is known as a great tragedy to the ethnic identity of chechens at this event. it is something very strong enough historical memory. >> in 1944, there were russians living in these homes in an area that supported 800,000 people. today in chechnya, how many of those russians are still there?
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>> it's a good question. there was huge propaganda saying the russians are killing all the chechens. they terrorized all of them and kicked them out. >> there were tens or hundreds of thousands of russians? >> 300,000. >> i want to call for better relations with united states and russia. we granted refugee status to this family. we see the outcome. who can answer what level --
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what are the training bases for extremist islam in that area? is there a particular site? >> the short answer is that they were training over there in chechnya and other places because the central government was very weak. they are limited because practicality is under the control. sufi islam is their traditional, which means they are limiting. central government is trying to strengthen local authorities and putting these security guys.
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>> one thing -- the russian government toluso watch tamerlan. he spent 6 months in the russian federation. how robust is the russian intelligence in the town where the parents lived? would be expected russians to keep track of an individual during six months? or is this an area where the writ of the government -- >> two months ago, the president of dagestan proved it is a failed state. bribery is very high. and lines are too many. too many ethnic groups.
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>> there are within dagestan 30 different mutually non- intelligible language groups. >> not the caucasus. >> but there are 30 different nations speaking. most are tri or quadrilingual. in many areas, it is very difficult for someone from the center to penetrate the plane was -- language communities so a lot goes on that frankly no one knows.>> thank you. you have time for a one minute statement. and we will be adjourning this hearing. >> ui, mr. chairman. i've been paying attention to
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the testimony in my office and trying to multitask, but i felt compelled to come. the issue is, listening to a lot, we talk about the wide-open territory and terrain that is not manageable or minded me somewhat of what had taken place in columbia at a time when we tried to bring some of those individuals back into society. whether or not there was something that was being done. so that those who are being taken toward terrorist and terrorist actions to bring them back into society so that they culture.ilate into >> the single best predictor when you get terrorism is the unemployment rates among 18- year-old males around the world. that trumps everything.
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and parts of the north caucasus, unemployment rates overall range from 50% to 70%. among young people, they are 100% in many cases in terms of the officially recognized number. what is the best that can be done, and the russian government is doing some of this, is trying to build factories to give people jobs. ,eople who are employed integrated and society in that way, are far less likely to be a missionary for al qaeda. >> i'm sorry, we have three minutes left. 30 seconds. >> thank you. i just want to say that the mention of these committees and columbia, and russia, they have started setting up similar committees for former fighters. this is something that i would say would be an area where the u.s. government and russia would be able to share experiences. >> ok. thank you very much. we appreciate all of the witnesses. let us just know that the end,
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theng the cold war, i was soviet union's worst enemy, nemesis, because i believe that free people need to determine who their number one enemies are and work to try to defeat them, and i does not mean that the people you work with are perfect, etc. and we did bring down the soviet union. in chinadical islam -- and china appeared to be the main advert site areas of the free world. i hope we all work together against a religion that will motivate people to murder children and other threats. to us and to civilization. this hearing is adjourned. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]
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white house photo out, president obama discussed civil war issues. intelligence agencies had recently reported that the sy rian government has used chemical weapons. resident obama calls the findings a game changer. .e called for in investigation this is about 10 minutes. >> i want to welcome to the oval office once again king abdullah. his majesty is a great friend of the united states. jordan is a great partner to the united states on a host of issues. although we have recently seen
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each other, want to thank his majesty for the extraordinary hospitality he showed during our visit. there remain a host of issues in the region we will have a opportunity to discuss. first of all, i want to congratulate his majesty on syria -- the serious issue inside of jordan. we have been supportive with respect to long guarantees and other efforts in part because we have also seen the abdulla take some very important steps to further open democracy and entrepreneurship inside of jordan. we want to encourage that because we think jordan can be an extraordinary model for governance in the region. we are going to have an opportunity to talk about the middle east peace process.
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last time i saw him, i had just come out of israel and the west bank. i had conversations with mr. netanyahu. jordan has enormous stake in peace. we do think there is a wind of opportunity that needs to be seized. we will consult how we can jumpstart serious conversations that could lead to a peaceful settlement, and a secure israel with normalize relationship with its neighbors. and a palestinian state is sovereign. of great concern is the situation in syria. jordan has experienced an influx of refugees coming into the country from syria.
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people who have been displaced. jordan historically has maintained open borders and allow these refugees on a humanitarian effort to come in. it is an enormous strain on the country. we are mobilizing support to help with these refugees. our goal is to create a stable syria where civilians are not at risk. we both agreed at this point, president assad has lost legitimacy. that we need to find a political transition that allows a multi- sect democratic transition that takes place so that syria can be a place for all people can come live in peace and harmony. this would be difficult to accomplish.
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some of you saw that i asked my people to brief congress about the fact that we now have some evidence that chemical weapons have been used on the populations of syria. these are preliminary assessments. they are based on our intelligence gathering, we have evidence of the use. there are a range of questions about how and where these weapons may have been used. we are going to pursue an investigation ourselves and consult with our partners in the region and the international community to make sure that we are investigating this as effectively and as quickly as we can. i meant what i said. i will repeat. it is obviously horrific when mortars are being fired on civilians, and people are being indiscriminately killed. to use potential weapons of mass
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destruction on civilian populations crosses another line with respect to international law. that is going to be a game changer. we have to act prudently. we have to make these assessments deliberately. i think all of us, and around the world, recognize how we cannot stand by and permit the systematic use of weapons like chemical weapons on civilians populations. this is going to be something we will pay a lot of attention to to try to confirm, and mobilize the community around those issues. in everything that we do, we very much appreciate the kinds of support, advice, counsel and partnerships that we have with his majesty and the people of jordan. we look forward to a fruitful consultation this afternoon.
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>> thank you very much. we are glad to be back here again. our hearts and condolences to the tremendous tragedy in boston, as well as that of texas, especially that of boston. we always stick together against our fight against terrorism. this is an issue we we will always be strong partners of. on the issue of the peace process, when you were in jordan, you mentioned this stage. we will continue to work with our allies to see how we can get these sites closer together. one of the major concerns is obviously the challenges of
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syria and the fragmentation of syrian society, which is becoming more alarming. since your last visit to jordan, we have had 160,000 refugees. the revelation is so grateful to the support that you and your people have given to our country. you could not do more. we are so grateful. i want to express our appreciation for that. i think that we are both working hard for a political solution for syria that is inclusive so that we can do it together, as we are now seeing the search of militant -- surge of militant terrorist organizations over the past several months. i am confident with your leadership, with the meetings we will have, we can find a
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mechanism to bring it to an end as quickly as possible. last week, you had the crown prince of [indiscernible] that is the position. the three of us are working hard in cooperation with the united states to try and find a just solution to the syrian crisis. i hope that together we will be able to do something as quickly as possible. [indiscernible] >> you guys all have the same question? one at a time. what we have right now is an intelligence assessment. as i said, knowing that potentially chemical weapons have been used inside of syria
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doesn't tell us when they were used, how they were used. obtaining confirmation and strong evidence, all those things we have to make sure that we work with the international community. we ourselves are going to be putting resources on this. i think that in many ways, a lot has been crossed when we see tens of thousands of innocent people being killed by a regime. but, the use of chemical weapons and the dangers that poses to the international community, to neighbors of syria, the potential for chemical weapons to get into the hands of terrorists, all of those things add increased urgency to what is already a significant security problem and humanitarian problem in the region. we are going to be working with countries like jordan to try to
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obtain more direct evidence and confirmation of this potential use. i've been very clear publicly but also privately that for the syrian government to utilize chemical weapons, on its people, crosses a line that will change my calculus and how the united states approaches these issues. this is not an on or off switch. this is an ongoing challenge that all of us have to be concerned about. we're going to be working with the international community and our partners to keep our eyes on what is happening on the ground. to gather any evidence of chemical weapon use. at the same time, to continue to help with a moderate and inclusive opposition to help bring about the day when the
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syrian people once again focus on living their lives, raising their children, starting businesses, and obtaining basic human rights. this is going to be a long-term proposition. this is not going to be something that is solved easily overnight. i know that king abdulla is committed to try to find these kinds of solutions. so am i. >> thanks everybody. >> thank you. >> obama administration officials have briefed individuals. following the briefing, intelligence committee ranking member congressman dutch rubbers berger says he believes some -- says heppersberger
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believes some chemical weapons have been used. this is about 10 minutes. >> where is fox? hello. how are you all? first thing, this is to bring all of the members together to give them information in a classified setting. we feel that there has been some chemical weapons that have been used. we are still investigating who did it, and where it is coming from. right now, we are in the evaluation stage. one of the most important issues is that we do bring the other countries. we need to work as a team. like we did in libya. we brought the arab league involved. there was nato involved.
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it is the same situation here. i would say that i think it is very important for us to continue to talk to russia. russia could really make a difference and helping to resolve this serious, terrible situation, where people are being killed every day. >> how many incidents? how many incidents have -- do you understand? >> i cannot get into that. >> secretary kerry said there were two. >> you got it then. i can't, because i got in a classified setting. >> do you think a red line has been crossed? >> i think that at this point, we have to keep evaluating where we are, and is a very serious situation. it is not about our country being involved. it is about getting all the countries involved and attempted to resolve this issue. it is a serious issue. you have issues involving immigration with different countries. you have turkey and jordan and evolve. this is a serious situation
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where you have a lot of in these camps and tents, without food. there is violence the goes on. there are a lot of issues that go on. >> do you think that -- what are the challenges with syrian terms of if he were to engage with them? >> first, i don't think we as the united states want to go into another war. it is a very serious situation with people being killed. what happens by the way, after assad leaves? that is another thing that we have to look at. all the countries that surround it. you israel, you have turkey, you have jordan. it is still a moving issue that we are working with other countries. as i said before, i think hopefully that russia understands how serious this is. not only with assad in power, but when he leaves. >> what about a no-fly zone?
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do you see those as options? >> all options are on the table. every option is on the table as far as serious concerns. one of the most important issues, there have been close to 100,000 people have been killed. it is nothing to stop. it seems that the balance of power goes back and forth. it seems that the opposition is stronger, and then the next thing you know, it goes back to assad into the government. we are very much concerned to about people from other countries, al qaeda influence. we are considered out when he does leave, and his government falls, where are those chemical weapons going to be? are they going to get into the hands of the bad guys? different groups, terrorist groups? including hezbollah. >> if he falls, would it take a ground force to stabilize the country? >> i can't get into that strategy. i would think at this time, with all the other issues we have, we would do everything we can to
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avoid putting boots on the ground. we have unique resources that no other countries have. we can work with the other countries as a team to try and do what we need to do as it relates especially to the issue of chemical weapons. i will say when this issue but chemical weapons came up a month ago, russia did step up. they had influence over assad in his government. [inaudible] how confident am i? i can only get briefed and evaluated, and howard -- and have our staff work on it. we feel chemical weapons were used in a very small way. >> speaker boehner urge the president to have a kind -- conversation with the country. with americans. in light of the latest development spree do think it is time for that? speaker boehner is urging the president to have a conversation on this latest developments. >> it is always good to communicate. right now we are not sure where
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we are going. i keep saying, russia is a key player. i think they are a game changer as far as resolving the issue and moving on with a post assad government. see you. you want to ask about boston? yeah, he has been moved. [inaudible] one issue, the major issue to focus on, find out what happened when he was in russia. was he radicalized? did he get training in how to build a bomb? it is not always easy to say you're going to build a bomb based on instructions produce a they have not tested bombs. the shoe bomber, times square
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bomber, we were lucky those not go off. they were pretty sophisticated. here you have a situation where these two brothers had successful bombs that went off. maybe they were lucky. maybe they -- i just don't know. i think that is the area i am think we need to focus on. was the brother radicalized when he went back? those are things that we need to pull together. [inaudible] i know we are communicating. as all i can say. >> does it make any sense that someone who seeks asylum would go back to their own country? >> why would russia let them come in and go back out question is another issue. >> do of any concern about the mother, whether she -- >> she's a a person of interest
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that we are looking at to see if she helped radicalize her son or had contact with other people and other terrorist groups. we do not want to put ourselves in the position where we have another threat out there. that their strategy might be to look at the united states as an area where they were successful. we have to focus on what happened with him in russia, and get as much intelligence as we can about terrorists in that region. the russians were concerned about the rebels. >> when it comes to the mother, what is your understanding of the tipoff that the russians gave to u.s. officials back in boston? >> i cannot discuss that. the mother did say that the blood was paint. i have to go. >> thank you.
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>> on "newsmakers," washington congressman adam smith, raking member of the armed services member, talks about boston bombings and information sharing among security agencies. here is a portion. >> at this point, i think it is fairly later that chemical weapons were used. i am not 100% confident of that. but based on the various intelligence reports we have being sortedt is out is used by home, how excessively, and what situation? how did it come to pass? was the assad regime giving a direct order to its military to use these millet -- to use
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these chemical weapons or did it happen in some other way? the details are murky. the confidence level seems pretty high that chemical weapons were used at least to a limited extent. newsmakers" sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c- span. josh stokes of daniel hand high school in madison, connecticut, is the grand prize winner in this year's c-span student camp competition. he makes the case that unemployment should be the president's top 40 in 2013. >> hi. come to my hometown of madison, connecticut, and you might find it hard to believe that unemployment is one of the biggest problems facing america. however, a two hour train ride will take you into the heart of united states, downtown manhattan.
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1,600,000. 136,000 of which are unemployed. staggering. we spoke with just few who lost his job just over two years ago. he has been looking for work ever since. >> going back to when i first became unemployed, i was probably very guilty of this, too, thinking that once i get a job, everything is better, not realizing how systemic it is and how unemployment affects only things in your life. >> you start to see addiction issues, marital strife because of all the things associated with the psychological burden of worry, stress. ,rom health, losing your home self-esteem, even friends, inviting people over. you're not able to have people over. it is a domino effect. i cannot even begin to tell you how long you're into it. the worse it gets, you are
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unemployable because you have been out of work for so long. it has goes -- it goes on and on. >> you have got specialized skills. if you don't use those skills they're going to deteriorate. now we are in another vicious circle where if your skills are deteriorating, you are that much less likely to get hired again. unemployment is a very serious ,ssue for reasons beyond just my paycheck, i do not even get into health insurance. most people get health insurance through their job. what happens if somebody gets sick? >> i hurt my back many years ago. just out of college. i was also diagnosed in 1993 with lung disease. a systemic disease. being unemployed -- you don't have access to the healthcare. and doctors won't accept medicaid. with my lungucky doctor.
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associatedore stigma with being unemployed. citizensrage, u.s. collecting unemployment tracks receive around $300 a week, which adds up to about $15,600 per year. as you can imagine, this is not go along way when you have car insurance, rent, food, clothing, home taxes, heating, electricity and more. eventually, what little money is left over will soon be spent on other necessities, and unemployed americans will have to borrow money from fans and family -- friends and family or lose their belongings. >> the best social program is a job. a job does give you a paycheck and provides a means to support yourself and your family. more important than that, it provides dignity and self-worth for people that they know they are contributing and that they know that they are capable of
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not being dependent on the government or family or charitable groups. >> one of the things i've been blessed with -- before i became unemployed, i was one of the founders of fishing out of our church, where we would take veterans out of the hospital and take them out for a relaxing day fishing out of the clinical hospital setting. since 2007, we have taken close to 2000 veterans out. and in beginning, when i was really struggling to continue to look for work, before my health ,imited that, looking for jobs the employment market, what happened was i discovered that i could be very successful at fishing. part of my ongoing fight with the disability insurance, i was depressed. i'm not a war, my home was being foreclosed on, i am not exactly a bundle of joy everyday.
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, we would like you to see a psychiatrist. i went and saw a psychiatrist and told them the things i was doing. .he said do you ever get down i said, of course i get down. i wake up sunday than do not want to get out of bed. it is a terrible situation to be in. to be unemployed, have no income, by home as being foreclosed on, my medical exactlye -- i don't feel like a good, it's on the road. >> being laid off is the hardest part of my job here with the economy as tight as it has been over the last four, five years, with the budget shrinking, and a great deal of our budget being invested in our human resources, as budgets cut, we are laying off more and more people. off isng someone probably the most difficult thing in business. able we have laid off have been
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-- people we have laid off have been instrumental parts to the growth of our business. i know them personally. i know about their families. so it is a very personal thing. >> unemployment obviously remains a very significant problem in the country, even though the news has been better. >> in the very near term, there is not the lot the government can do to create jobs. like this is the worst economic recovery in a 70 years. >> the jobless rate has recently leveled out at just over 8%. >> the united states has lost 42,000 factories. since 2001. somewhere over 6 million people, which is a remarkably high number because the previous record was somewhere around 3 million people. to try to get somebody to relieve my medical conditions. that is my priority.
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i think i still have a lot to offer society. whether that be a volunteer role that i am doing now, or a paid position, i certainly think that i have something to offer. that is what i hope to do. ♪ >> congratulations to all of the winners in this year's student cam composition. to see more winning video, go to studentcam.org. >> next, your call and comment on the "washington journal."
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then the white house science fair. teher ofhonor t3 >> she married at 15 and helped teach her husband to be a better reader and writer. during the civil war, she sent supplies to the unionist in the tennessee mountains. by the time her husband assumes the presidency, she is in poor health. 17t eli the johnson, wife of president andrew, as we continue .ur series on first ladies monday night, live at 9:00 eastern on c-span and c-span3, also on c-span radio and c- span.org. retired air force colonel seeks aboutton serious use of michael's. then christa williams of the travelers visa system explained
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how these work in the u.s.. later, "washington post" reporter daniel douglas talks about the protection bureau's annual report. "washington journal" is next. host: the lead story in this morning's "washington post," -- sequestration may be at hand. good morning and welcome to the washington journal. in this edition of the washington journal we begin by talking about congress passing a bill to ease flight delays. we want to get your input. here are the numbers.

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